Systems and methods for caching of managed content in a distributed environment using a multi-tiered architecture including off-line access to cached content

ABSTRACT

Embodiments as disclosed provide a distributed caching solution that improve the performance and functionality of a content management platform for sites that are physically or logically remote from the primary site of the content management platform. In particular, according to embodiments, a remote cache server may be associated with a remote site to store local copies of documents that are managed by the primary content management platform. Periodically, a portion of the remote site&#39;s cache may be synchronized with the content management platform&#39;s primary site using an extensible architecture to ensure that content at the remote cache server is current.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priorityto, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/752,357 filed Jan. 24, 2020,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN ADISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT USING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDINGOFF-LINE ACCESS TO CACHED CONTENT,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,992,767,which is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/276,687 filed Feb. 15, 2019, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTEDENVIRONMENT USING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDING OFF-LINE ACCESSTO CACHED CONTENT,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,581,999, which is acontinuation of and claims a benefit of priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/434,235 filed Feb. 16, 2017, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTUSING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDING OFF-LINE ACCESS TO CACHEDCONTENT,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,250,710, which is a continuation ofand claims a benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/094,524 filed Apr. 8, 2016, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CACHINGOF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT USING A MULTI-TIEREDARCHITECTURE,” issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,021,209, which claims thebenefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/146,030, filed Apr. 10, 2015, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTUSING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE,” and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/296,329 filed Feb. 17, 2016, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTUSING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDING OFF-LINE ACCESS TO CACHEDCONTENT”. This application is a continuation of, and claims a benefit ofpriority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/752,357, filed Jan. 24,2020, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN ADISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT USING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDINGOFF-LINE ACCESS TO CACHED CONTENT”, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,992,767,which is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/276,687, filed Feb. 15, 2019, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTEDENVIRONMENT USING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDING OFF-LINE ACCESSTO CACHED CONTENT”, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,581,999, which is acontinuation of, and claims a benefit of priority to, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/434,235, filed Feb. 16, 2017, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR CACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTUSING A MULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDING OFF-LINE ACCESS TO CACHEDCONTENT”, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,250,710, which claims the benefitof priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/296,329, filed Feb. 17, 2016, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCACHING OF MANAGED CONTENT IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT USING AMULTI-TIERED ARCHITECTURE INCLUDING OFF-LINE ACCESS TO CACHED CONTENT”by Pauthner et al. All referenced applications are hereby fullyincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the caching of content in adistributed network environment. More particularly, this disclosurerelates to embodiments of systems and methods for caching managedcontent in a distributed network environment utilizing a multi-tieredarchitecture, and the optimization of such systems and methods. Evenmore specifically, this disclosure relates to embodiments of systems andmethods for allowing access to cached managed content in a distributednetwork environment utilizing a multi-tiered architecture, includingaccess to such cached managed content in both on-line and off-linesettings.

BACKGROUND

Increasingly, in the computing world, functionality is distributed. Suchdistribution is achieved through the separation of the functionality ordata (collectively resources), and the physical or logical decoupling ofsuch resources. In order to accomplish certain tasks or applicationsmultiple resources may be needed. Thus, communications between variouscomponents may be required when implementing that functionality.

To illustrate in more detail, in many cases content (which may also bereferred to herein as documents or files) may be accessed from a numberof users spread across many different sites or networks using a numberof different applications. This situation presents a special set ofchallenges, as many of these users may need to work collaboratively on adocument, or the content may be part of enterprise which wishes tomanage the content (e.g., version such content, maintain a historicalarchive of such content, reconcile changes, apply permissions to suchcontent, etc.).

In order to manage the content, however, an at least somewhatcentralized management environment may need to be applied to thecontent. Specifically, in certain content management environments aprimary content management platform may serve as a centralized accesspoint for the content, applying permissions, versioning, etc. to thecontent. As may be seen, however, the use of such a centralizedmanagement platform may be antithetical to the highly distributedenvironment in which the content is access and utilized.

In particular, use of these types of centralized managementarchitectures in a distributed network environment may present certainproblems, some of the most concerning of which have to do with speed ofaccess. As detailed above, in many cases the users who access contentmay be distributed, and remote from, a centralized content managementplatform, with varying speed, bandwidth and reliability of networkconnections to such a content management platform. Despite these typesof variations, all accesses by all users to the managed content must gothrough the primary content management server in order that the contentbeing accessed may be managed in conjunction with the access. Suchaccesses may therefore require a number of communications betweenwhatever application is being utilized to access the content and theprimary content management server in order to, for example, reconcilepermissions, version the content, download the content from themanagement server to the user's local device, upload changes from theuser's application to the central management server, or perform otherfunctionality involve with managing the content.

For at least these reasons then, because access to content may bedistributed, and remote from, a centralized content management platform,with varying speed, bandwidth and reliability of network connections,both the availability of content and the speed of access to such contentwhen it is available may be inconsistent. If the network connection isslow or unavailable, a user's access to desired content may be impeded.

Accordingly, what is needed are systems and methods which speed orotherwise serve to optimize access to managed content in a distributednetwork environment.

SUMMARY

To address those desires, among other ends, embodiments as disclosedherein may provide a distributed caching solution that improve theperformance and functionality of a content management platform for sitesthat are physically or logically remote from the primary site of thecontent management platform (e.g., the physical or logical site of amain installation of the content management platform).

In particular, according to certain embodiments, a remote cache servermay be associated with a remote site to store local copies of documentsthat are managed by the primary content management platform.Periodically, a portion (which may be a single document) of remotesite's cache may be synchronized with the content management platform'sprimary site using an extensible architecture to ensure that content atthe remote cache server is current. This synchronization may provideusers at the remote site dramatically faster access to current contentwhile still adhering to the management model (e.g., permissions oraccess controls, versioning, etc.) of the primary content managementplatform.

Generally, to accomplish such synchronization a remote cache module atthe remote cache server may monitor requests associated with users atthe remote site. If a user at a particular remote site requests adocument that is already cached at the remote cache server, that remotecache server satisfies the request locally (e.g., from the cache at theremote cache server). If the document is not available, the remote cacheserver obtains it from the primary content management platform, and thencaches it on the remote cache server so that it can satisfy anysubsequent requests locally.

Embodiments of such a remote cache server may work for document uploadsas well as downloads. Whenever a user at a remote site adds a documentor a document version, the remote cache server first caches the documentor version locally. The remote cache server can then forward thedocument or version to the primary content management platform, so thatthe change is synchronized with the content management platform at theprimary site.

According to certain embodiments, the content in the cache at the remotecache server may be accessed by a user within the remote site even ininstances where the primary content management server is unavailable. Inparticular, in the event of loss of connectivity (e.g., due to networkproblems or issues with the primary content management server) thecontent resident in the remote cache may be made available for access tothe users at the remote site.

Additionally, to aid in maintaining availability of particular contentan administrator associated with a user site may designate a file, afolder or other content for storage in the remote cache server. As suchthe designated content may remain at the remote cache server and isavailable (along with the other content in at the remote cache server)even when the primary content management server is unavailable due to,for example, network problems or problems with the primary contentmanagement server itself.

In particular, in certain embodiments a multi-tiered architecture may beimplemented in conjunction with remote cache servers deployed at remotesites to allow embodiments of the distributed caching system asdisclosed to be utilized with a wide variety of content managementplatforms. Each tier of the architecture may be configured to beminimize communications between other tiers of the caching system (andbetween tiers of the caching system and management platforms) and tooptimize those communications that do occur. Moreover, an extensiblearchitecture may be employed in certain tiers such that the same cachingsystem may be utilized in conjunction with a number of differentrepository platforms serving as primary content management servers andnew repository platforms may be easily added.

In some embodiments, a system for remote caching includes a primarycontent management server for managing content, a remote cache systemincluding a cache and a data store for storing metadata corresponding tocontent stored in the cache, where the content in cache is managed bythe primary content management server. A remote client transfer moduleis associated with the remote cache system and can receive a firstrequest to access content. This first request may be associated with aparticular user. The remote client transfer module can access the datastore to determine if first metadata associated with the requestedcontent is stored in the data store. Based on the presence of themetadata, the remote client transfer module may send a first request toa primary content transfer module associated with the primary contentmanagement server and receive a first response from the primary contenttransfer module including second metadata.

The remote client transfer module can compare the first metadata to thesecond metadata to determine if a version of the content stored in thecache is a current version of the content. If the version of the contentstored in the cache is a current version the content in the cache can beprovided in response to the first request while if the version of thecontent stored in the cache is not the current version a second requestfor the current version of the content may be sent to the primarycontent transfer module. The current version of the content may bereceived, stored in the cache and provided in response to the firstrequest.

In a similar embodiment, the primary content transfer module may beassociated with the primary content management platform and can receivethe first request associated with the content from the remote clienttransfer module and send a third request to the primary contentmanagement server for the second metadata associated with the content.The primary content transfer module can also determine if the user haspermission to access the content based on the second metadata and thefirst request and if the user does not have permission return a responseindicating this to the remote client transfer module.

The primary content transfer module can also return the first response,including the second metadata, to the remote client transfer module andreceive the second request for the current version of the content. Thecurrent version of the content can be obtained from the contentmanagement platform and returned to the remote client transfer module.

Accordingly, embodiments as disclosed herein may provide a number ofadvantages, and in particular a number of advantages that serve toaddress or remedy problems that arise through the implementation and useof content management platforms and managed content in a distributedcomputer network environment. For example, a remote site may have alow-bandwidth connection to the primary site resulting in slow access tocontent, dropped connections, denied or delay access or other problems.

Embodiments as disclosed may provide the technical advantage of allowinghighly efficient caching to be implemented in conjunction with managedcontent even in such distributed computer environment. Morespecifically, embodiments may allow this caching to be implemented inconjunction with a wide variety of content management platforms andprovide the extensibility to allow other content management platforms tobe added to the distributed caching system with minimal effort.Moreover, by minimizing the number of communications that occur withrespect to such a caching architecture the speed and efficiency of thecaching of the management content may be substantially increased.

Additionally, embodiments as depicted herein may minimize thecommunications between remote cache servers and primary contentmanagement servers, in some cases allowing the caching of contentresulting from content access requests from users to be resolved insingle communication between a remote cache server and a primary contentmanagement server.

Furthermore, embodiments as disclosed herein may ensure the highavailability of frequently accessed or other content by users at a site,even in the event of interruptions in connectivity or problems with theprimary content server.

Embodiments as disclosed may thus provide the technical advantage ofallowing highly efficient caching to be implemented in conjunction withmanaged content in a distributed computer environment.

These and other aspects of the invention will be better appreciated andunderstood when considered in conjunction with the following descriptionand the accompanying drawings. The following description, whileindicating various embodiments of the invention and numerous specificdetails thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation.Many substitutions, modifications, additions or rearrangements may bemade within the scope of the invention, and the invention includes allsuch substitutions, modifications, additions or rearrangements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification areincluded to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearerimpression of the invention, and of the components and operation ofsystems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparentby referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, wherein identical reference numeralsdesignate the same components. Note that the features illustrated in thedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 depicts a diagrammatic representation of an example of a systemand architecture for caching.

FIG. 2 depicts a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of asystem and architecture for caching in a distributed environment.

FIG. 3 depicts a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of asystem and architecture for caching in a distributed environment.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E depict flow diagrams for embodiments ofmethods utilized in caching managed content in a distributedenvironment.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram for an embodiment of a method utilized incaching managed content in a distributed environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention and the various features and advantageous details thereofare explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodimentsthat are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in thefollowing description. Descriptions of well-known starting materials,processing techniques, components and equipment are omitted so as not tounnecessarily obscure the invention in detail. It should be understood,however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, whileindicating some embodiments of the invention, are given by way ofillustration only and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions,modifications, additions and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/orscope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from this disclosure.

Before delving into more detail regarding the specific embodimentsdisclosed herein, some brief context may be helpful. As discussed, inthe computing world functionality is often distributed. Additionally, itis often the case that content is often subject to management throughthe use of content management platforms. It should be noted here thatthe description herein regularly refers to content, documents anddocument versions. In practice, embodiments apply to any type of digitalinformation that may be stored, and the term “document” or “content” isused as a convenience. Where “documents”, “content” or “files” arereferenced, it should be understood that any type of stored and managedinformation may utilized with embodiments, including but not limited to:that produced by office productivity software such as text editors,spreadsheets and slide presentations; publishing formats such as AdobePDF; computer aided design and drafting files; scanned images;photographs; digital audio information; digital video information;computer output report, log files or print files; web pages; computersoftware source code; or other data that may be stored on digital media.

Such content may be accessed from a number of users spread across manydifferent sites or networks using a number of different applications.This situation presents a special set of challenges, as many of theseusers may need to work collaboratively on a document, or the content maybe part of enterprise which wishes to manage the content (e.g., versionsuch content, maintain a historical archive of such content, reconcilechanges, apply permissions or access controls to such content, etc.).

A primary content management platform may, however, serve as acentralized access point for the content, applying permissions,versioning, etc. to the content. The use of these types of centralizedmanagement architectures may present certain problems having to do withavailability of, or speed of access to, content. Because access tocontent may be distributed, and remote from, a centralized contentmanagement platform, with varying speed, bandwidth and reliability ofnetwork connections, the availability of content may be inconsistent.Specifically, if the network connection is slow or unavailable, a user'saccess to desired content may be impeded. What is desired are systemsand methods which speed or otherwise serve to optimize access to thismanage content in a distributed environment.

To that end, attention is now directed to the systems and methods forthe caching of managed content in a distributed network environment.Specifically, in certain embodiments a caching architecture may beutilized in which a remote cache server associated with a primarycontent management server is deployed at each of one or more remotesites (also referred to as user sites) such that content managed by theprimary content management platform (also referred to as the primaryserver) is cached on these remote cache servers. Content may then beaccessed by users at the remote site utilizing this remote cache.

In particular, in certain embodiments a multi-tiered architecture may beimplemented in conjunction with remote cache servers deployed at remotesites to allow embodiments of the distributed caching system asdisclosed to be utilized with a wide variety of content managementplatforms. Each tier of the architecture may be configured to beminimize communications between other tiers of the caching system (andbetween tiers of the caching system and content management platforms)and to optimize those communications that do occur, as will be explainedin more detail at a later point herein. Moreover, an extensiblearchitecture may be employed in certain tiers such that the same cachingsystem may be utilized in conjunction with a number of differentrepository platforms serving as primary content management servers andnew repository platforms may be easily added.

The use of such an architecture may allow content in the cache of theremote server to be accessed by a user within the remote site even ininstances where the primary server is unavailable (e.g., in an off-linesetting). In particular, in the event of loss of connectivity (e.g., dueto network problems or issues with the primary server) the contentresident in the cache may be made available for access to the users. Forexample, to aid in maintaining availability of particular content anadministrator associated with a remote site may designate a file, afolder or other content for storage in the remote cache server. Thus,when the network is available the remote cache server may obtain thedesignated content from the primary server and store the designatedcontent in the cache at the remote cache server. This designated contentmay not be subject to any cache replacement policy or other storagepolicy utilized with the content at the remote cache server and accessesby users at the site to content. As such the designated content mayremain in the cache at the remote cache server and is available (alongwith the other content in at the remote cache server) even when theprimary content server is off-line (e.g., unavailable) due to, forexample, network problems or problems with the primary server itself.

Referring first to FIG. 1 then, one example of an architecture for theremote caching of managed content is depicted. Here, the architectureincludes primary content management platform 140 which is an instance ofa repository server responsible for managing content. Content managementplatform may include one or more server computers which may be coupledto one or more other repository platforms 150, users at remote sites 110(e.g., 110 a, 110 b) and remote cache servers 120 (e.g., 120 a, 120 b)through network 130. Network 130 may be the Internet, an intranet, awireless or wired network, a LAN, a WAN, some combination of these typesof networks, or another type of computer network.

Primary content management platform 140 may, for example, be one or morecomputers configured with OpenText's Content Server, OpenText's ArchiveServer or another type of repository, content management or storageserver (collectively referred to as a content management platform orserver, a repository platform or server or a primary server). Thecontent managed by primary server 140 may be stored on a data store(electronic file store (EFS)) 142 associated with the primary server 140itself, or may, in turn, be stored and managed by another repositoryserver 150 which itself has an EFS 152.

In cases where the content is stored or managed by another repositoryserver 150, the primary server 140 may include metadata on the contentindicating the repository server 150 on which the content is stored inaddition to any other metadata maintained by primary server 140 on thecontent. Such a repository server 150 may, for example, be an instanceof OpenText's Archive Server or Content Server.

Users at remote sites 110 may utilize platform client applications 112to access content managed by primary server 140. It will be understoodthat a site 110 is a physical or logical grouping of associated devicesor users coupled over a network (which may be separate from, or include,network 130). Such a grouping may be based upon geographicconsiderations, business or organizational considerations, networkconsiderations (e.g., a site may be a particular IP address range) orother considerations entirely.

Generally, then, application 112 is a proprietary application, a plug-inor extension of an existing application (such as those existingapplications forming a part of the Microsoft Office Suite) or a webbased application for use on a browser such as those known in the art,including, for example, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc., thatare provided through an accessed web page or the like. No matter theparticular implementation, however, application 112 may be configured toaccess (e.g., open, download, view, edit, save, upload or otherwiseaccess) content managed by primary server 140.

In the embodiment of the architecture depicted, remote cache server 120is deployed in conjunction with a particular site 110. It will be notedhowever, that remote cache server 120 may be deployed for a portion of aremote site 110 or for multiple remote sites 110. When a user using anapplication 112 at that site 110 desires to access content managed byprimary server 140 then, the access request from the application 112 isdirected to remote cache server 120 deployed at the site 110.

Remote cache client module 126 on the remote cache server 120 receivesthis request and makes the determination if the request can be satisfiedfrom cache 122 at the remote cache server 120 (e.g., is the requestedcontent 122 in cache 122, is the version of the content in the cache 122the current version of the content, does the user requesting the accesshave the proper permissions to access the content, does the contentbeing saved and does it need to be reconciled with content at theprimary server 140, etc.). To process such an access request then, theremote cache client module 126 may communicate with, and make a numberof requests to, remote cache server module 144. Such a request mayinclude metadata or other identifying information for the contentrequested or the user. These requests may be independent and can consumeboth time and resources.

Moreover, in certain cases, primary server 140 may itself have to obtainthe content from one or more other repository platforms 150 on which thecontent is actually stored. These other repository platforms 150 may beof the same or a different type than the primary server 140. Considerthe case of an access request by a user for particular content.Initially, the request may be received by the remote cache client module126 at the remote cache server 120 deployed at the site 110. Remotecache client module 126 may then send a request to the remote cacheserver module 144 at the primary server 140 to determine if therequesting user has the proper permissions to access the requestedcontent. Remote cache server module 144 receives the request andutilizes the content management module 146 at the primary server 140 todetermine if the user has the appropriate permissions for the requestedcontent and returns the response to the remote cache client module 126.

If the user has permissions to access the content, the remote cacheclient module 126 may then check cache 122 to determine if the contentis in the cache 122. If the requested content is not in the cache theremote cache client module 126 may send a request to remote cache servermodule 144 to obtain the content. Alternatively, if the content is inthe cache 122 the remote cache client module 126 may send a request witha version number of the content in cache 122 to check and see if theversion is the latest version.

When remote cache server module 144 receives such a request it mayaccess content module 146 to check the version of obtained the requestedcontent. If the requested content is stored in the EFS 152 at anotherrepository platform 150 content module 146 may, in turn, have to obtainthe content (or other information) from repository platform 150 (e.g.,by sending a request to platform module 154 on the repository server150). In the case of obtaining the requested content then, the primaryserver 140 obtains the requested content from repository platform 150and then returns the content to remote cache client module 126. Therequested content can then be stored or updated (collectively stored) incache 122 for future access.

As can be seen then, there may be certain inefficiencies with particularimplementations of remote caching. Including, for example, cache 122 maycontain not only content but metadata related to that content. Themetadata may in fact, be stored in the same, or a related file, to thecontent. Thus, searching for metadata for content may be inefficient andtime consuming. Moreover, the use of multiple independent requestsbetween the remote cache server 120 and the primary server 140 mayresult in high latency of access. Adding to this latency may be the factthat, in cases where the content is stored on another repositoryplatform 150 the primary server 140 may have to obtain this content fromthe repository platform 150 before it can provide this content to theremote cache server 120, which, in turn, provides it to the requestinguser.

Accordingly, in certain embodiments for remote caching as depictedherein a multi-tiered architecture may be implemented in conjunctionwith the remote cache servers deployed at user's sites to minimizecommunications between other tiers of the caching system (and betweentiers of the caching system and management platforms) and to optimizethose communications.

FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of such a multi-tiered architecture forthe remote caching of managed content in a distributed networkenvironment. Again, the architecture includes primary content managementserver 240 which is responsible for managing content coupled to one ormore other repository platforms 250, users at remote sites 210 (e.g.,210 a, 210 b) and remote cache servers 220 (e.g., 220 a, 220 b) throughnetwork 230 (e.g., be the Internet, an intranet, a wireless or wirednetwork, a LAN, a WAN, some combination of these types of networks,etc.).

Here, in order to implement the caching of content managed by theprimary server 240, remote cache server 220 includes a database (DB) 228and cache (e.g., a data store) 222 where cache 222 is used to storecached versions of the content managed by primary content managementserver 240 and DB 228 is used to store corresponding metadata for thecontent stored in cache 222. Thus, content in cache 222 may havecorresponding metadata in DB 228 and the metadata in DB 228 and thecontent in cache 222 may be searched, manipulated or otherwise accessedindependently from one another. Such metadata may include, for example,the type of content, size, author, location in cache 222, versionnumber, identifier (e.g., identifier of, or used by, primary server240), etc.

Remote cache server 220 may also include cache client interface 225,which includes one or more interfaces configured to accept requests froman application 212 for use with a particular type of repository platformwhich may be utilized as primary server 240. For example, one interfacemay be configured to accept and process requests from application 212for use with OpenText's Enterprise Connect while another module may beconfigured to accept and process requests from application 212 for usewith OpenText's Archive Server. For example, one of the cache clientinterfaces 225 may be a common gateway interface (CGI) configured to beaccessed from applications 212 that are utilized in a web basedenvironment. Thus, such a CGI interface could, for example, acceptrequests issued through a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) GET or POSTwith a particular universal resource locator (URL).

There may also be an interface 225 configured to accept and processrequests from applications 212 that are sending request to an existingcache service (e.g., an existing remote cache service). The cache clientinterface 225 may be configured to determine if such requests are notcontent related and may forward those requests directly to therepository platform 250 or primary server 240 for which the request maybe intended.

If the request is content related it may be submitted to remote clienttransfer module 226. In one embodiment, the cache client interface 225forwards this request for content access in a format utilized by theremote client transfer module 226 such that no matter the repositoryplatform 250 or type of primary server 240 with which application 212 isdesigned to be utilized the request is received by remote clienttransfer module 226 in a standard format. For example, remote clienttransfer module 226 may provide a web services interface such as aREpresentational State Transfer (REST) interface or a Simple ObjectAccess Protocol (SOAP) based interface. Cache client interface 225 mayutilize this web services interface to forward the request for contentaccess to the remote client transfer module 226.

Remote client transfer module 226 can then utilize the metadata in DB228 to determine if requested content is in cache and, if it is, whatthe version number, identifier, etc. for that content is, withoutaccessing the content in cache 222 itself. Remote client transfer module226 can then send an appropriate request to primary content transfermodule 244. The request may include an identifier or version (e.g., theversion of the content if it exists in cache 222) for the content, anidentifier for the user or other information. This request may beformatted according to a format utilized by primary content transfermodule 244. Again, primary content transfer module 244 may provide a webservices interface such as a REST interface or a SOAP based interface.Remote client transfer module 226 may utilize this web servicesinterface to issue a request to the primary content transfer module 244.

Primary content transfer module 244 may receive the request and processit accordingly. Specifically the primary content transfer module 244 mayobtain the metadata for the requested file from the content module 246of the primary server 240. As discussed, primary server 240 may be acertain type of repository server. Thus, to insure that caching systemsas disclosed herein may be utilized with different types of primaryservers 240, primary content transfer module 244 may employ one or morerepository connectors, where each repository connector is configured toreceive requests and issue those requests to the content module of acorresponding type of repository server in a format appropriate for thattype of repository server.

For example, one repository connector may be configured for use withOpenText's Content Server while another repository connector may beutilized with OpenText's Archive Server. It will be noted that incertain embodiments, such repository connectors may be instantiated ordeployed for each repository platform with which the primary contenttransfer module 244 is to be utilized such that there may be a one toone correspondence with repository connectors and repository platformsbeing utilized with the primary content transfer module 244.

Once the metadata for the requested content has been obtained by theprimary content transfer module 244, primary content transfer module candetermine if the user requesting the content through the application 212has the proper permissions, if the version in the cache 222 on theremote cache server 220 is the current version of the content, thelocation of the content, etc. An appropriate response can then bereturned to the remote client transfer module 226.

This response may include the requested content itself along withmetadata, or updated metadata, in the case where the content is not incache 222 or the version in cache 222 is not the current version. Insuch cases the received content may be stored or updated in the cache222 and the metadata stored or updated in DB 228. In one embodiment,before the content is stored or updated in cache 222 it is convertedinto a format (e.g., Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), eXtensible MarkupLanguage (XML), PDF, etc.) that is used to present the content to theuser by the application 212. Such a conversion may be accomplished, forexample, using a document conversion (DCS) module 224 at the remotecache server 220.

If primary content transfer module 244 determines that the requestedcontent should be returned to the remote client transfer module 226 butthat the content is stored at a remote platform 250 the response mayinclude the metadata for the requested content and a redirect such thatremote client transfer module 226 is redirected to the remote platform250 on which the requests content is located. In this manner, remoteclient transfer module 226 may obtain the requested content directlyfrom the remote provider 250 where the content is stored, obviating theneed for primary content transfer module 244 to obtain the content fromthe repository platform 250 itself.

The response from primary content transfer module 244 may also confirmthat the version of the content in cache 222 is current and may beprovided to the user. The remote client transfer module 226 can thenobtain the content from the cache 222 directly.

Once the content is received or obtained by the remote client transfermodule 226 it can then be provided to the cache client interface 225which, in turn, may provide the requested content to the requestingapplication 212 for access by the user.

Alternatively, the response from primary content transfer module 244 mayinclude a denial of permission for the user to access the requestedcontent. A response can then be returned to the user (e.g., through thecache client interface 225 and application 212) that the user has beendenied permission.

In certain cases, however, primary server 240 may experience downtime ornetwork 230 may be slow or otherwise unavailable. In such cases, thecached version of content stored in the cache 222 may be made availableto the users of the site 210 by the remote cache server 220 (e.g., ifany version of the requested content is available in cache 222).

Here, cache client interface 225 may receive a request for content froma user using an application 212 and make a request for the content toremote client transfer module 226. Remote client transfer module 226 canthen send an appropriate request to primary content transfer module 244.The request may include an identifier or version (e.g., the version ofthe content if it exists in cache 222) for the content, an identifierfor the user, or other information. This request may be formattedaccording to a format utilized by primary content transfer module 244.If no response is received from the primary content transfer module 244or generally from the primary server 240 in a certain time period theremote client transfer module 226 may determine that the primary server240 is unavailable.

Additionally, in one embodiment the remote client transfer module 226may maintain a heartbeat or other type of status communication withprimary content transfer module 244 or generally with the primary server240. For example, the remote client transfer module 226 may send acommunication requesting a response to primary content transfer module244 on primary server 240 at some interval. If a response to thecommunication is not received from primary content transfer module 244or primary server 240 within a certain time period, or for multiple ofthese communications, the remote client transfer module 226 maydetermine that the primary server 240 is unavailable until such a timeas one or more responses is received to a subsequent communication fromthe remote client transfer module 226.

If the primary server 240 is determined to be unavailable (or before orduring such a determination) the remote client transfer module 226 candetermine if a version of the requested content is resident in cache 222(e.g., using the metadata in DB 228). If a version of the requestedcontent does not exist in the cache 222 and the primary server isdetermined to be unavailable, the remote client transfer module 226 canreply to the cache client interface 225 that the primary server 240 isunavailable and the content is unavailable. The cache client interface225 can then reply to the user through the application 212 that therequested content is unavailable.

If, however, a version of the requested content does exist in the cache222 and the primary server 240 is determined to be unavailable theremote client transfer module 226 can reply to the cache clientinterface 225 that the primary server 240 is unavailable and the contentis available along with the location of the content in the cache 222.

The cache client interface 225 can then reply to the user through theapplication 212 or an independent interface informing the user that therequested content is unavailable, informing the user that a version ofthe content is available locally and providing the user the ability toaccess the local version of the content (in the cache 222). The user canthen be allowed to access the local version of the requested content inthe cache 222. In one embodiment, the user may be granted only readaccess to such content to facilitate multiple users' access to thecontent or to ensure that synchronization or version issues are notencountered when primary server 240 once again becomes available.

In one embodiment, the metadata in DB 228 may include associatedpermissions for the content in cache 222. By storing such permissions, arequesting user's permission may be checked against the permissionsassociated with the requested content and stored in DB 228 by remoteclient transfer module 226 or cache client interface 225. Access to thelocal copy of the requested content stored in cache 222 may then begranted to the user if the user is allowed to access the requestedcontent based on the locally stored permissions in DB 228.

In a particular embodiment, permissions may be managed utilizing adirectory server such as Active Directory or OpenText Directory Services(OTDS). The directory server (not shown) may be utilized to authenticateall users of the primary server 240. At those remote sites 210, or inconjunction with remote cache server 220, a federated directory server,such as an OTDS replication server or the like will be deployed andconnected to the primary directory server utilized with the primaryserver 240. The primary and replication directory servers may keep theirdata synchronized through periodic updates automatically. The primarydirectory server (e.g., primary OTDS) is connected to an entity'senterprise directory (e.g., Microsoft Active Directory/LDAPv3 server)and will update the replication server(s) as needed. In the event thereis a temporary network interruption, the primary directory server willresume updating the replication servers as soon as the network isavailable again.

It will be noted that cache 222 may be subject to one or morereplacement policies by which content in the cache 222 may be replaced,overwritten, moved, deleted, etc. In certain embodiments, anadministrator or other user associated with site 210 with certainprivileges (collectively administrator), may be provided the ability todesignate content, including particular files or folders as cachedcontent not subject to the replacement policy. The designated contentmay be requested from the primary server 240, placed in the cache 222and not removed from the cache 222 until specified by an administrator.In this manner, local access to the designated content may substantiallyalways be available regardless of the availability of primary server240.

In particular, in some embodiments an interface may be offered throughan application 212 or the like by which an administrator may designateone or more locations, such as file or folders for content managed byprimary server 240, for residency in the cache 222 (e.g., not subject toa content replacement policy or otherwise to remain in the cache 222until selected for removal).

Remote client transfer module 226 can then utilize the metadata in DB228 to determine if the designated content is in cache and if it is whatthe version number, identifier, etc. for that content is, withoutaccessing the content in cache 222 itself. Remote client transfer module226 can then send an appropriate request to primary content transfermodule 244. The request may include an identifier or version (e.g., theversion of the content if it exists in cache 222) for the designatedcontent or other information.

The remote client transfer module 226 may receive the requesteddesignated content itself along with metadata, or updated metadata, inthe case where the content is not in cache 222 or the version in cache222 is not the current version. In such cases, the received content maybe stored or updated in the cache 222 and the metadata stored or updatedin DB 228. In particular, it can be noted (e.g., a flag set or a fielddesignated) with respect to metadata associated with the designatedcontent in DB 228 that the content should not be removed from cache 222.Additionally, to ensure that this designated content remainssynchronized with the content as maintained at primary server 240 atsome interval the remote client transfer module 226 may process metadata228 in DB 228 to determine metadata for the designated content and thenutilize the metadata in DB 228 to send a request to primary contenttransfer module 244 for that designated content with the version number,identifier, etc. for that content. If updated metadata or an updatedversion of the designated content is received from the primary server240 by the remote client transfer module 226 the designated content canbe updated in the cache 222 or the metadata in DB 228 associated withthe designated content can be updated.

In this manner, if this designated content is requested by a userthrough application 212 and the primary server is determined to beunavailable, the remote client transfer module 226 can reply to thecache client interface 225 that the primary server 240 is unavailableand the content is available, along with the location of the designatedcontent in the cache 222. The cache client interface 225 can then replyto the user through the application 212 or an independent interfaceinforming the user that the requested content is unavailable, informingthe user that a version of the content is available locally andproviding the user the ability to access the local version of thedesignated content (in the cache 222). The user can then be allowed toaccess the local version of the requested designated content in thecache 222.

It should be noted here that while certain modules, applications,modules, etc. have been depicted in conjunction with certain serversherein, it will be realized that this is for purposes of illustrationsonly and that such modules, applications, modules, etc. may bedistributed differently or reside at other locations. It may thus behelpful to an understanding of embodiments of the distributed remotecaching systems presented herein to discuss more details of certainembodiments of architectures for such caching systems.

Turning then to FIG. 3 , a representation of an embodiment of a systemand architecture for caching in a distributed environment is depicted.Architecture 300 includes one or more repository platform applications302, one or more cache client interface providers 312, one or moreremote client cache servers 320, one or more primary content transfermodules 334 and one or more repository platforms 340 deployed in adistributed manner and configured to communicate over network 330. Thus,it will be noted specifically that primary content transfer module 334may be deployed remotely from and configured to work with multiplerepository platforms 330 and multiple deployed remote cache servers 320.

Remote client transfer module 325 and primary content transfer module334 may cooperate to store content managed (including stored) by arepository platform 340 in the cache 322 at the remote cache server 320.The content stored in the cache 322 at the remote cache server 322provide quicker access to the content managed by the repository platform340. Remote client transfer module 325 and primary content transfermodule 334 also cooperate to keep content in cache 322 synchronized withthe content managed at by the repository platform 340. Accordingly,remote client transfer module 325 and primary content transfer module334 may communicate metadata or content between themselves to accomplishthis synchronization. In one embodiment, the transfer of content mayoccur according to a particular protocol utilized by remote clienttransfer module 325 and primary content transfer module 334, andimplemented through protocol modules 327 and 337, to increase both thespeed and reliability of the transfer of content between the remoteclient transfer module 325 and primary content transfer module 334.

As a result, content may be more quickly and reliably accessed by usersutilizing repository platform applications 302. These repositoryplatform applications 302 may include applications that may be deployedin a remote site or on a user's device within the remote site and beconfigured to be clients of a type of repository platform 340 to allow auser to access content managed by that repository platform 340. Forexample, content web services 302 a may be an application that uses webservices to allow a user to access managed content, browser application302 b may be an application or interface configured to be executed orrendered by a browser to allow a user to access content managed by arepository platform 340. Office integration application 302 c may be aplug-in or other application that may be utilized with Microsoft OfficeApplications (e.g., Word) to allow content managed by a repositoryplatform 340 to be accessed. Similarly, SAP integration application 302d may be an application designed to integrate with a repository platform340 using interfaces or associated with SAP (e.g., SAP SE of Walldorf,Germany). Other application 302 n (e.g., deployed differently ordesigned to integrate with different repository platforms 340) may beutilized.

Cache client interface providers 312 include one or more modules 312configured to accept and respond to requests from applications 302,where each of the modules 312 may be configured for a particular type ofrequest. For example, remote cache (RC) interface 312 a may beconfigured for requests that correspond to a remote caching systems thatan application 312 is configured to utilize. For example, one or morerepository platform applications 302 may be configured to utilize acaching platform such as OpenText's cache server or the like. Thus, theremote cache interface 312 a may be configured to accept requests in theformat utilized by the caching platform such that these requests may beimplemented in conjunction with embodiments of the distributed remotecaching architecture through remote cache server 320 and primary contenttransfer module 334 without alteration or modification of repositoryplatform applications 302.

Common gateway interface 312 b may be configured for requests arereceived through a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) to a particularURL. Thus, the CGI interface 312 b may include, or be implemented with,an HTTP server such that when requests are made for a particular URLthese requests may be implemented in conjunction with embodiments of thedistributed remote caching architecture as described herein throughremote cache server 320 and primary content transfer module 334. Inparticular, the requested action may be identified in the query stringof the URL used to access CGI interface 312.

Other modules 302 n configured to handle requests from other types ofrepository platform applications 302 utilizing different format are alsocontemplated.

Remote cache server 320, which may be one or more servers deployed at aremote site, includes a remote client transfer module 325 utilizingcache 322 and DB 328. Remote client transfer module 325 is configured toaccept and response requests from cache client interface providers 312(or directly from repository platform applications 302 or anotherrequestor) through interface 326. In one embodiment, remote clienttransfer module 325 may be a web based application such as those writtenin Java or C++ executing on a web server such as Apache Tomcat or thelike, while interface 326 may, for example, be a REST interface.

Remote client transfer module 325 is configured to issue requests andaccept responses from primary content transfer module 334 (e.g., basedon requests received through interface 326) and return responses torequests received through interface 326. Cache 322 is used to storecached versions of the content managed by repository platforms 340 andDB 328 is used to store corresponding metadata for the cached content incache 322. Thus, content in cache 322 may have corresponding metadata inDB 328 and the metadata in DB 328 and the content in cache 322 may besearched, manipulated or otherwise accessed independently from oneanother. Such metadata may include, for example, the type of content,size, author, location in cache 322, version number, identifier (e.g.,identifier of, or used by, repository platform 340), etc.

In one particular embodiment, the metadata in DB 328 stored for contentin cache 322 (or a portion thereof) may substantially mirror a portionof the metadata maintained by the primary repository platform 340storing and managing the content. For example, the metadata stored in DB328 for content managed by content server 340 may include one or moremanagement (MGMT) tables 329 that are duplicative or a subset of MGMTtables 331 maintained by content server 340 a.

To illustrate a specific embodiment, for a particular piece of content,a component may be used to manage all versions or renditions of thecontent while a particular version or rendition of the content may bemanaged using a particular document. Thus, each component may one ormore associated documents that are versions or renditions of thedocument associated with that component. As such, these MGMT tables 329may include a table for component information (referred to as acomp_data table), a table for content server specific information for acomponent (referred to as a CS_comp_data table) and a table for adocument associated with a component (referred to as a CS_docs table).

Accordingly, for a particular piece of content, an entry in a componenttable may be used to manage all versions or renditions of the contentwhile a particular version or rendition of the content may be managedusing an entry in document table. Each component may have one entry inthe comp_data table or the CS_comp_data table and that entry associatedwith one or more entries in the CS_docs_table representing the versionsor renditions of the document associated with that component.

For example, while other data may be maintained in association with suchMGMT tables 329, in one embodiment, the following information may beincluded in the respective tables:

COMP_DATA

Columns:

-   -   ID—auto-increment    -   COMP_KEY_AS—internal unique component ID defined for Archive        Server system type    -   COMP_KEY_CS—internal unique component ID defined for Content        Server system type    -   CONTENT_SIZE—size of the content    -   MIME_TYPE—mime type    -   CACHE_PATH—path to the file in cache folder where the content is        stored    -   UPLOAD_STATE—a status reflecting content uploaded, content        downloaded, content partially uploaded, content partially        downloaded, scheduled for store and forward.    -   ENCRYPTION_KEY_ID—id for the key in a DOC_SYSTEM_KEYS table used        to encrypt the document key. If content is not encrypted the        value is −1    -   ENCRYPTED_KEY_LENGTH—length of the document key. If document is        not encrypted the value is 0.    -   TIME_STAMP—timestamp when the row was last accessed    -   REMARK—used in migration operation only.

CS_COMP_DATA

Columns:

-   -   COMP_KEY—internal unique component ID    -   COMPONENT_ID—component ID defined by Content Server    -   VERSION—version number    -   RENDITION—rendition    -   PLATFORM_TYPE—platform ID specific to the primary system    -   PROVIDER_ID—provider ID specific to the primary system    -   FILE_NAME—name of the file that was uploaded    -   DOWNLOAD_HEADERS—headers that should be set for a download        request    -   DOCUMENT_KEY—document key that contains this component (see        CS_DOCS table)    -   MTIME—modification time    -   CTIME—creation time    -   VER_MAJOR—major version number as defined by Content Server    -   VER_MINOR—minor version number as defined by Content Server    -   TIME_STAMP—timestamp when the row was last accessed

CS_DOCS

-   -   Columns:        -   DOCUMENT_ID—document ID as defined by Content Server        -   NAME—name        -   PARENT_ID—parent ID        -   DEFAULT_COMPONENT_ID—default component (or default version)        -   PUBLIC_ACCESS            -   1 document is public            -   0 document is not public        -   DOCUMENT_KEY—internal unique document ID        -   POPULATED            -   1 the document arrived in cache through                Populate/Subscribe operation            -   0 the document arrived in cache through normal download                request        -   ADV_VERSION_CONTROL—if document might have major/minor            versions        -   TIME_STAMP—time stamp when the document was last accessed.

Referring still to FIG. 3 , primary content transfer module 334 may beconfigured to accept and respond to a request from the remote clienttransfer module 325 through interface 335. Specifically, primary contenttransfer module 334 may accept requests and access one or morerepository platforms 340 to respond to such requests. In one embodiment,primary content transfer module 334 may be a web based application suchas those written in Java or C++ executing on a web server such as ApacheTomcat or the like, while interface 335 may, for example, be a RESTinterface.

Repository platforms 340, as discussed above, may be any storage orcontent management platform such as for example, OpenText's ContentServer 340 a, 340 c or OpenText's Archive Server 340 b. Other repositoryplatforms 340 n are also contemplated. Such repository platforms 340 mayaccept and respond to requests associated with managed content. Themanaged content may be stored locally on the repository platform 340 ormay be stored on another repository platform 340.

As described above, to insure that remote caching systems as disclosedherein may be utilized with different types of repository platforms 340being utilized as a primary content management server one or morerepository connectors 332 may be utilized be primary content transfermodule 334. Each repository connector 332 is configured to receiverequests and issue requests associated with the requested functionalityto a corresponding type of repository server 340. For example,repository connector 332 a, 332 c may be configured for use withOpenText's Content Server while repository connector 332 b may beconfigured for use with OpenText's Archive Server. Repository connectors332 n configured for use with other types of repository platforms arealso contemplated.

In certain embodiments, such repository connectors 332 may beinstantiated or deployed for each repository platform 340 with which theprimary content transfer module 344 is to be utilized such that theremay be a one to one correspondence with repository connectors andrepository platforms being utilized with the primary content transfermodule 344. Here, for example, repository connector 332 a may be usedwith repository platform 340 a, repository connector 332 b may be usedwith repository platform 340 b, etc.

It will now be helpful to an understanding of certain embodiments todiscuss methods that may be employed in architectures such as thosedepicted in FIG. 2 or 3 above in order to efficiently implement remotecaching in such environments. Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4E oneembodiment of a method of accessing and caching managed content in adistributed network environment utilizing remote caching is depicted.

Looking first at FIG. 4A, at step 402 an access request (also referredto as a download, open or retrieval request) can be received. Therequest may include an identifier for the type of request beingperformed, the desired content, an identifier or location of a primarycontent server, user information, or other data. Such a request may, forexample, be initiated by a user interacting with a repository platformapplication 302 on his device and indicating that he wishes to open oredit certain content such as a document, version of a document, mostrecent version of a component, or the like. This request is intended fora particular repository platform 340 which manages the content (whichcan be considered the primary content management platform for thisrequest).

When platform application 302 issues the request it is intercepted orreceived at a cache module client 312 (e.g., CGI interface 312 b) at aremote cache server 320 for the user's site that is associated with therepository server 340 that is the primary content management server.Alternatively, the request from the application 302 may be issued as arequest to a remote cache service or server associated with a particularrepository platform 340 which manages the content. In this case, therequest may be intercepted by a cache module client 312 (e.g., remotecache interface 312 a) associated with the remote cache service.

For example, a requested action (e.g., access) may be determined by anargument in the query string received by the CGI interface 312 b. A URL(or portion thereof) received at CGI interface 312 may look like:http://nionescu-t.opentext.net/OTCS/cs.exe?func=ll&objId=8042&objAction=download&viewType=1. The “objAction” argument may specify the requestedoperation. Thus, if the value for such an argument is “download”,“downloadrenditionaction”, “doc.fetch”, “doc.view”, etc. CGI interface312 b may determine that an access to a document requiring retrieving orproviding the document is what is being requested. Other arguments mayinclude an identifier for a document (or component) and version, amongother arguments.

Once it is determined that the request is an access request, one or morerequests to implement the received request can then be formattedaccording to the interface 326 provided by remote client transfer module325 and issued to the remote client transfer module 325 through theinterface 326. Again, the request(s) issued to the remote clienttransfer module 325 may include an identifier for the type of requestbeing performed, the desired content, an identifier or location of aprimary content server, user information, or other data.

In one embodiment, interface 326 of remote client transfer module 325may be a REST interface using the HTTP protocol, such that requests foroperations on components or documents can be received using the HTTP GETor HTTP POST commands with an associated URL string (or portion thereof)The following are examples of an interface that may be utilized with anembodiment of an interface 326 of a remote client transfer module:

Component: Operations on a component Command URL String Description GET/component/ Get information about the specified {component_id}/component. Only the metadata may cache returned not the content. Theinformation may be taken from the local cache 322. POST /component/Upload a component stream. {component_id}/ contents GET /component/ Getthe stream of a component of a {component_id}/ document. contents POST/component Create a component object. GET /component/ Get informationabout the specified {component_id} component. Only the metadata may bereturned not the content.

Document: Operations on a document object Command URL String DescriptionGET /document/ Get a document object by {document_id} identifier. Onlythe metadata may be returned not the content. DELETE /document/ Delete adocument. {document_id} POST /document/ Promote a Document Version.{document_id}/ promote_version POST /document Create a document. POST/document/ Create a component object. {document_id}/ version GET/document/ Get the content of a specific {document_id}/ version of thespecified version/data document. GET /document/ Get information about a{document_id}/ specific version of the version/metadata specifieddocument. Only the metadata may be returned not the content. GET/document/ Get information about a {document_id}/version/ specificversion of the metadata/cache specified document. Only the metadata maybe returned not the content. The information may be taken from localcache 322. GET /document/ Get information if the {document_id}/components of the specified store-and-forward document are marked forStore and Forward. Only the metadata may be returned not the content.

Upon receiving the request, the cache 322 at remote caching server 320may be checked for the requested content (or a version thereof) at step404. For example, client side transfer module 325 may access the DB 328using the identifier in the received request to determine if therequested content is in cache 322. As the metadata in DB 328 isseparated from content in cache 322 the search of the metadata may berelatively efficient.

Specifically, for example, a component identifier, document identifieror version identifier, can be determined from the received request andit can be determined if there are MGMT tables 329, or rows in suchtables, (such as a comp_data, comp_cs or cs_docs table) associated withthe determined identifier(s). Accordingly, based on the presence ofmetadata 328 associated with the requested content, then, it can bedetermined at step 404 if the requested content (or a version thereof)is in cache 322.

Based on the presence of the requested content (or version thereof) inthe cache one or more request(s) may be formed according to interface335 of the primary content transfer module 334 and sent to the primarycontent transfer module 334. Specifically, if metadata associated withthe requested content can be located in DB 328 (e.g., a version of therequested content is the local cache 322) a request to the primarycontent transfer module 334 including, for example, the identifier forthe component, document or version requested, the access requested, anidentifier for the user who issued the request and a version identifierfor the version (or most recent version) of the content currently thecache 322 (which may be obtained from the metadata for the requestedcontent, such as the VERSION field of the cs_comp_data table) may beformed and sent at step 408.

Alternatively, if no metadata associated with the requested content canbe located in DB 328 (e.g., there are no rows of MGMT tables 329associated with the component, document or version identifier as thecontent is not in the local cache 322) a request to the primary contenttransfer module 334 including the identifier for the requestedcomponent, document or version, the access requested and an identifierfor the user who issued the request may be formed and sent at step 410.In any event, it will be noted that in certain embodiments a singlerequest may be sent to primary content transfer module 334 (e.g., byremote client transfer module 325).

In one embodiment, when a request is sent to primary content transfermodule 334 an indication of the pending request is maintained inassociation with metadata in DB 328 for the requested content (if itexists). Thus, when a request is sent to the primary content transfermodule 334 for the content, a flag or other indicator that such arequest is pending may be stored in metadata associated with the content(and cleared when a response is received). This indicator may indicatefor example that a request is in progress, has been completed, that onlymetadata for the content exists in the cache or another status.Accordingly, before a request is sent to the primary content transfermodule for the content any metadata associated with the contentidentifier may be checked to determine the status of this indicator andif a request associated with the content is outstanding another requestmay not be sent. In certain embodiments, a pending queue of outstandingrequests may be maintained such that only one request to the primarycontent transfer module 334 may be sent for each pending request for thesame content.

Continuing with FIG. 4B, this request issued by the remote clienttransfer module can be received at step 412. For example, the requestissued by the remote client transfer module 325 may be received at theprimary content transfer module 334. When the request is received theprimary content transfer module 334 may obtain the metadata associatedwith the requested content maintained by the primary content managementserver (e.g., repository platform 340) that manages the requestedcontent. Thus, primary content transfer module 334 may issue a requestto the repository platform 340 that is the primary content managementserver for the requested content to obtain the metadata maintained bythat repository server 340 for that content. This request may be issuedthrough a repository connector 332 associated with that repositoryserver 340.

Using the metadata obtained on the requested content from the primarycontent management server for that content the permissions may bechecked at step 414. In particular, primary content transfer module 334can determine if the user who issued the initial request has appropriatepermission to perform the requested access on the requested content. Inone embodiment, this can be done by obtaining permissions associatedwith the user using the identifier for the user included in the receivedrequest and the metadata on the requested content obtained from theprimary content management server 340. If the requesting user does nothave appropriate permissions for the requested access on the requestedcontent at step 416 a response may be sent to remote client transfermodule 325 indicating the user's request should be denied at step 418.

If, at step 416 the user does have appropriate permissions the metadatafor the current version of the requested content stored on primarycontent management server (e.g., repository platform 340) can bereturned from the primary content transfer module 334 to remote clienttransfer module 325 at step 419 in response to the request.

Moving on to FIG. 4C, at step 458 when the response is received from theprimary content transfer module 334 the remote client transfer module325 can determine if the response indicates that permission has beendenied for the user to perform the requested access on the requestedcontent. If the user does not have appropriate permissions for therequested access on the requested content at step 458 the remote clienttransfer module 325 at step 460 will then send a response (e.g., throughclient interface provider 312) to the requesting platform application302 which may, for example, present an error message to the user.

If the response from the primary content transfer module 334 includesmetadata for the requested content at step 420 the remote clienttransfer module 325 can determine if the requested content is in cache322 at the remote cache server. This determination can be made, forexample, based on the received response. For example, if the responsereceived from the remote client transfer module 325 includes a versionidentifier for the content it can be determined if there is version ofthe requested content already in cache 322 at the remote cache serverand if the version of the requested content matches the version numberof the current version of the content (as stored on primary contentmanagement server) by for example, comparing the content, document orversion identifier received in the response (or other received metadata)to the corresponding fields in MGMT tables 329 on the remote cacheserver 320.

If the version numbers match at step 422 the remote client transfermodule 325 will then, at step 424, send a response (e.g., through cacheclient interface 312). Such a response may allow the user to access thecontent in the cache 322 (and which may include the actual requestedcontent itself) to the requesting platform application 302 which may,for example, present the content for access to the user.

If it is determined either that there is no version of the requestedcontent in the local cache 322 at the remote cache server at step 420 orthat the version in the local cache is not current at step 422, thecontent itself may be requested from the primary content transfer module334. Thus, at step 425, the remote client transfer module 325 mayrequest the content from the primary content transfer module 334. Thisrequest may indicate an identifier for the component, document orversion requested. Additionally, remote client transfer module 325 mayupdate a status associated with the content reflecting that the contentis to be transferred (e.g., downloaded to the remote client transfermodule 325). In one embodiment, for example, the remote client transfermodule 325 may update the UPLOAD_STATE column of the row in thecomp_data table associated with the content with status to reflect thatthe content is being partially downloaded or the like. In this manner,if there is an error before the content has been completely downloadedthe content (or portions thereof) may be re-requested from the primarycontent transfer module 334.

Moving to FIG. 4D, the request for the content may be received at step427. As discussed, content may be managed by a primary contentmanagement server that is actually stored by another repository platform340. Thus, using metadata on the requested content obtained from theprimary content management server the primary content transfermanagement module 334 can determine if that content is stored on theprimary content management server or on another repository platform 340associated with the primary content management platform.

If the content is stored on the primary content management server atstep 448 the content may be obtained by the primary content transfermodule 334 from the primary content server at step 430. Obtaining thecontent may include sending a request with the identifier for thecontent (e.g., an identifier for the component, document or version) tothe repository platform 340 serving as the primary content managementserver through an appropriate repository connector 332. At step 432 thenthe obtained document and metadata associated with the content may betransferred to the client side transfer module 325. In one embodiment,the transfer of the content between the remote client transfer module325 and the primary content transfer module 334 may be performedaccording to a particular protocol that utilizes a number of operatingthreads to request or transfer the content, as will be explained in moredetail at a later point herein.

If the requested content is stored on another repository platform 340(e.g., not the primary content management server) a response may beformed and sent at step 434 where the response includes a resourcelocator associated with that repository platform and the requestedcontent (e.g., a URL or universal resource indicator (URI)).Specifically, the metadata obtained from the primary content managementserver may contain sufficient information to identify both the locationof the repository platform 340 storing the requested content and anidentifier for the content associated with that repository platform 340.A response, including for example, a resource locator for the contentmay thus be created. In some embodiments, the response may also includemetadata associated with the requested content, such that metadataassociated with the content may be updated in DB 328. Alternatively, themetadata for the content may be sent in one response while the contentor resource locator for the content may be sent a separate response.

Looking now at FIG. 4E, when the client side transfer module 325 at theremote cache server receives a response from the primary contenttransfer module 334 at step 440 it can determine if the requestedcontent is included in the response at step 442 (or if the requestedcontent has been transferred in response to the request). Such adetermination may be made, for example, by accessing and determining avalue of the UPLOAD_STATE field of the row in the comp_data tableassociated with the requested content. If the content has beentransferred (e.g., the content that is new content that was notpreviously stored in cache 322 at the remote cache server or the versionin the cache 322 at the remote cache server was not the most currentversion) the transferred content may be stored in cache 322 at theremote content server at step 444 and the metadata (which may also bereceived in the response) in the DB 328 may similarly be stored orupdated at step 446.

In one embodiment, this may include the creation of one or more newentries in the comp_data, cs_comp_data or cs-docs table of MGMT tables329 or the updating of data in an existing row of those tables. Ininstances where a new version of content already stored in cache 322 istransferred from the primary content transfer module 334, the newversion of content may be stored in the cache 322 and a new entry in oneor more of those table may be created such that the new version isstored in cache 322 along with the one or more older versions of thecontent and the versions of the content associated with one another bymetadata in DB 328 (e.g., are associated with the same component).

At step 448 the content can then be returned to the requesting user. Theremote client transfer module 325 may, for example send a response(e.g., through cache module client 312) allowing the user to access thecontent in the cache 322 (or which may include the actual requestedcontent itself) to the requesting platform application 302 which may,for example, present the content for access to the user.

If a resource locator is included in the response at step 442 the remoteclient transfer module 325 may utilize the included resource locator toobtain the content directly from the repository platform associated withthe included resource locator at step 464 by, for example, accessing thelocation specified by the resource locator or sending a request inaccordance with the resource locator. Once the content is obtained thereturned content may be updated or stored in cache 322 at step 444 andthe metadata (which may also be received in the response or may beobtained from the repository platform 340 while directly obtaining thecontent) in the DB 328 may similarly be stored or updated at step 446.Then, at step 448 the requested content can be returned to therequesting user. The remote client transfer module 325 may, for examplesend a response (e.g., through cache module client 312) allowing theuser to access the content in the cache 322 (or which may include theactual requested content itself) to the requesting platform application302 which may, for example, present the content for access to the user.

Moving on to FIG. 5 now, an embodiment of a method of saving or updatingmanaged content in a distributed remote caching environment is depicted.At step 502 an upload request may be received. For example, a useraccessing content through a repository platform application 302 may saveor close content to which changes have been made (or which may have beennewly created) or request that a new version or document be created. Inresponse, the repository platform application 302 may send the new orchanged content (or indicators of the changes thereto) in an uploadrequest. The upload request may be received by an appropriate cachemodule client 312 for the repository platform application.

For example, a requested action (e.g., upload) may be determined by anargument in the query string received by the CGI interface 312 b. A URL(or portion thereof) received at CGI interface 312 b may look like:http://nionescu-t.opentext.net/OTCS/cs.exe?func=ll&objId=8042&objAction=doc.addversion2&viewType=1.The “objAction” argument may specify the requested operation. Thus, ifthe value for such an argument is “doc.addversion2”, “create”,“create2”, etc. CGI interface 312 b may determine that an access to adocument requiring uploading the document is what is being requested.Other arguments may include an identifier for a document (or component)and version, and the content itself, among other arguments.

The cache client interface 312, in turn, send an upload request to theremote client transfer module 325 at step 504. For example, the clientinterface may institute a PSOT with a URL that included/document/{document_id}/version. The POST operation will contain boththe metadata for the document and the content itself (e.g., the actualbinary of the document). The metadata for example, may include anidentifier for the content (e.g., component, document or version), anidentifier for the user, a time stamp, a previous or current versionnumber, etc.

Thus, in conjunction with the received upload request the content andassociated metadata may be received at step 506 by the remote clienttransfer module 325. At step 508 then, a request is sent to create ano-content (or stub) for the new document or version on the primarycontent management server. This request may be sent to the primarycontent transfer module 334. This request may include only the metadatafor the content.

When primary content transfer module 334 receives the request to createa no-content version, the primary content transfer module 334 may send arequest, at step 510 to the repository platform 340 (e.g., contentserver 340 a) associated with the content of the received request tocreate a no-content version. Thus, in response to this request aplaceholder may be created on the repository platform 340 a. In oneembodiment, an entry in one or more MGMT tables 329 may be created andpopulated with the metadata received in the request along with anyadditional metadata maintained or generated by the repository platform340 (e.g., content server 340 a). This no-content version will, however,have a size of zero and not be associated with the content itself.

The metadata as created by the repository platform (e.g., for theno-content entry in MGMT tables 329 for content server 340 a) can thenbe returned from the repository platform 340 to the primary contenttransfer module 334, which, in turn, returns the metadata to the remoteclient transfer module 325. When remote client transfer module 334receives the metadata from the primary content transfer module 334 atstep 512 it may update the metadata in DB 328 and store the content (asreceived in the original request from the cache client interface 312) incache 322.

In one embodiment, the updating of the metadata in DB 328 may includethe creation of one or more new entries in the comp_data, cs_comp_dataor cs-docs table of MGMT tables 329 or the updating of data in anexisting row of those tables. In instances where a new version ofcontent already stored in cache 322 is being created the new version ofcontent may be stored in the cache 322 and a new entry in one or more ofthose table may be created such that the new version is stored in cache322 along with the one or more older versions of the content and theversions of the content associated with one another by metadata in DB328 (e.g., are associated with the same component).

After the content and metadata is stored in the cache 322 and DB 328 atthe remote cache server 320 a notification may be sent to the user thatthe upload has been completed at step 514. In one embodiment, then, theremote client transfer module 325 may complete the storing of content ormetadata and send a response indicating the save has been competed tothe repository platform application 302 that issued the upload requestthrough the cache module client 312.

Subsequently, at a later point (e.g., after the response to the user issent at step 514), the content itself may be uploaded to the primarycontent management server at step 516. Such an upload may include thetransfer of content between the remote client transfer module 325 andthe primary content transfer module 334. In one embodiment, the transferof the content between the remote client transfer module 325 and theprimary content transfer module 334 may be performed according to aparticular protocol that utilizes a number of operating threads torequest or transfer the content, as will be explained in more detail ata later point herein.

As may be noticed, a response to the user indicating the content hasbeen uploaded or a new version created may be sent to a user beforerequested action has actually been accomplished with respect to theprimary content management platform (e.g., repository platform 340).Thus, synchronization or creation of the content at the primary contentmanagement platform may be made asynchronously to the initial receptionand storage of the content at the remote cache server 320. Bypropagating the content to the primary content management serverasynchronously to informing the user that such changes have been saved,the user or application may be allowed to more quickly resume otheractivities of continue operating as the notification may be sent as soonas the content is saved on the remote cache server 320 (which may beaccessed more quickly), ensuring a user does not have to wait on theslower access required to propagate the content to the primary contentmanagement server.

This transfer of content from the remote client transfer module 325 tothe primary client transfer module 334 may be initiated substantiallyimmediately after the content and metadata are updated in the cache 322and DB 328 or a response is returned to a user or may occur at asubsequent point. In the latter case (known as store-and-forward), astatus associated with the document (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE of entry inthe comp_data table associated with the document in MGMT tables 329) maybe kept indicating that the document needs to be uploaded. At someinterval a thread (e.g., a store-and-forward thread) may check thestatus of the documents and initiate the upload for any documents whichhave a status reflecting that they need to be uploaded.

Once the document is uploaded to the primary client transfer module 334the remote client transfer module 325 may send a command (e.g., a COMMITcommand) at step 518 to primary client transfer module 334 to initiatethe upload of content from the primary client transfer module 334 to theprimary content management server (e.g., repository platform 340).Primary content transfer module may then, at step 520, initiate theupload of the content from the primary client transfer module 334 to theappropriate repository server 340 and return a status of this upload tothe remote client transfer module 325 at step 522.

Specifically, in one embodiment, if the upload of content to therepository server 340 is successful a status associated with the contentat the remote cache server 320 (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE of an entry inthe comp_data table associated with the document in MGMT tables 329 inDB 328) may be set to reflect that no action need to be taken withrespect to the document.

If an error occurs during upload of content to the repository server340, the primary content transfer module 334 may attempt to identify theerror and if the error is identified as unrecoverable, the statusreturned to the remote client transfer module 325 at step 522 mayindicate an unrecoverable error. In such cases a status associated withthe content at the remote cache server 320 (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE of anentry in the comp_data table associated with the document in MGMT tables329 in DB 328) may be set to reflect that the content has not beenuploaded. If the error cannot be identified the primary content transfermodule 334 may attempt repeated (e.g., two or more) uploads. If after anumber of attempts errors are still encountered the status returned tothe remote client transfer module 325 at step 522 may indicate anunrecoverable error. In such cases a status associated with the contentat the remote cache server 320 (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE of an entry inthe comp_data table associated with the document in MGTM tables 329 inDB 328) may be set to reflect that the content has not been uploaded.

It may be useful now to discuss an embodiment of how content may betransferred between remote client transfer module 325 and primarycontent transfer module 334. In particular, in one embodiment a protocol(e.g., as employed by protocol modules 327 and 337) which utilizesmultiple simultaneous thread to transfer the content as chunks may beutilized. Thus, when remote content transfer module 325 wishes torequest content from the primary content transfer module 334, protocolmodule 327 on the remote cache server may be used to request the contentfrom protocol module 337 of the primary content transfer module 334.

In one embodiment, protocol module 327 on the remote cache server 320includes a master transfer thread that manages the transfer of eachdocument requested. When a request to upload or download a document (ajob) is received (e.g., with a component, document or versionidentifier), the master transfer thread may determine the size of thedocument to be transferred (e.g., from the metadata in MGMT tables 329in DB 328 or from the received request) and calculate a number of chunksby dividing the size of the document into a number of equal size chunks(e.g., 64K, 512K, 1 MB, etc.) (where the last chunk may be of smallersize if the content is not evenly divisible among the chunk size).

The master thread at the protocol module 327 may then send a request orother notification to the protocol module 337 at primary contenttransfer module 337 indicating an upload or download job, the size ofthe content, number of chunks of the content, metadata associated withthe content, including for example, one or more identifiers associatedwith the content (e.g., component, document or version identifier) orother metadata. In response to this notification, the primary protocolmodule 337 may obtain the content (e.g., from the repository platform340) in the case of a download request or create a buffer space or otherlocation to store the content in the case of an upload request.

Master thread at protocol module 327 may then create work items for thejob, where a corresponding work item for each of the chunks may beplaced in a queue. The work items may be numbered or otherwiseidentified with a particular chunk of the file and indicate whether thefile is to be downloaded or uploaded. Once the work items are placed inthe work queue a number of work threads will be started (which may be 8threads in one embodiment, but could be fewer or more threads in otherembodiments) to process the work items.

In the case of content to be downloaded from the remote content primarycontent transfer module 334, the master thread may mark a statusassociated with the content as partially downloaded (e.g., theUPLOAD_STATE in the entry of the comp_data table of MGMT tables 329 ascontent partially downloaded). Additionally, master thread may create alocation for where the content is to be stored in cache 322. Thislocation may be updated in metadata in DB 328 (e.g., the CACHE_PATHcolumn in the entry of the comp_data table of MGMT tables 329).

Each work thread then proceeds to obtain a work item associated with achunk of the file and request that chunk from the corresponding protocolmodule 337 at the primary content transfer module 334. When the protocolmodule 337 at the primary content transfer module 334 receives a requestfor the chunk of the content, it can access the requested chunk of thecontent at the primary content server module 334 and return therequested chunk to the requesting work thread.

The work thread at protocol module 327 may receive the requested chunkand write the received chunk of the content into the cache 322 at theappropriate location. In particular, as the work thread maintains dataindicating the chunk identifier and the chunk size, the work thread maybe able to calculate the offset from the beginning of the location wherethe content is being stored in the cache 322. The work thread can thusstore the chunk directly at the proper offset from the beginning of thelocation in cache 322 created to store the content. Additionally, thework thread may update an indication of which chunks have beendownloaded. This indicator may be stored in association with, forexample, the entry in the MGMT tables 329 corresponding to the contentor may be stored in another location associated with the protocol module327 or the content being downloaded. In this manner, the chunks of thecontent that have been successfully downloaded (or which have not beensuccessfully downloaded) may be tracked. Other ways of tracking thesuccessful or unsuccessful download of chunks of the content may also beutilized and are contemplated herein. Once the work thread has storedthe chunk and updated the indication that the chunk has been downloaded,the work thread may then obtain another work item off the work queue ifany more exist.

If all the chunks of the content are downloaded successfully (e.g., allwork items processed by work threads and all chunks are indicated asdownloaded), the work threads may be cleaned up (e.g., killed) by themaster thread and the master thread may mark the status associated withthe content as content downloaded (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE in the entryof the comp_data table of MGMT tables 329 as content downloaded).

If, however, there is a network interruption or other error during thedownload of the content, the protocol module 337 may notify the remoteclient transfer module 325 which may, in turn, provide an error to theuser through the appropriate cache client interface 312. In this case,the status associated with the content may remain as partiallydownloaded (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE in the entry of the comp_data tableof MGMT tables 329) Accordingly, when network connectivity is restored(or any other errors resolved) this status will reflect that the contentwas partially downloaded. Moreover, as the chunks which have (or havenot) been downloaded are tracked, when the download is resumed protocolmodule 327 may determine which chunks have not been downloaded from thechunk tracking data and only place work items on the queue for thosechunks. In this manner, only the chunks not previously downloaded mayneed to be requested and downloaded to complete the download of thecontent. It will be noted that, in some embodiments, the completion ofthe download of the content may not be initiated until such a time as asubsequent access request for that content is received by remote clienttransfer module 325.

Similarly, then, according to embodiments, in the case of content to beuploaded to the primary content transfer module 334 from the remoteclient transfer module 325, the master thread may mark a statusassociated with the content as partially uploaded (e.g., theUPLOAD_STATE in the entry of the comp_data table of MGMT tables 329 ascontent partially uploaded). Additionally, master thread determine alocation for where the content is stored in cache 322 from DB 328 (e.g.,the CACHE_PATH column in the entry of the comp_data table of MGMT tables329).

Each work thread then proceeds to obtain a work item associated with achunk of the file and obtain that chunk of content from the location incache 322 where the content is stored. In particular, as the work threadis aware of the chunk identifier and the chunk size, the work thread maybe able to calculate the offset from the beginning of the location wherethe content is being stored in the cache 322. The work thread can thusobtain the desired chunk of data directly at the proper offset from thebeginning of the location in cache 322 created to store the content. Thework thread may then send the chunk of content (e.g., along with a dataor metadata needed to identify the content, the job, etc.) to theprotocol module 337 at the primary content transfer module 334.

When the protocol module 337 at the primary content transfer module 334receives a request for the chunk of the content, it can write thereceived chunk in the created buffer or storage space for the job andreturn an indication to the work thread at protocol module 327 that thechunk has been received and stored.

The work thread at protocol module 327 may receive the notification andmay update an indication of which chunks have been successfullyuploaded. This indicator may be stored in association with, for example,the entry in the MGMT tables 329 corresponding to the content or may bestored in another location associated with the protocol module 327 orthe content being uploaded. In this manner, the chunks of the contentthat have been successfully uploaded (or which have not beensuccessfully uploaded) may be tracked. Once the work thread has updatedthe indication that the chunk has been uploaded, the work thread maythen obtain another work item off the work queue if any more exist.

If all the chunks of the content are uploaded successfully (e.g., allwork items processed by work threads and all chunks are indicated asuploaded), the work threads may be cleaned up by the master thread andthe master thread may mark the status associated with the content ascontent downloaded (e.g., the UPLOAD_STATE in the entry of the comp_datatable of MGMT tables 329 as content uploaded).

If, however, there is a network interruption or other error the statusassociated with the content may remain as partially uploaded (e.g., theUPLOAD_STATE in the entry of the comp_data table of MGMT tables 329)Accordingly, when network connectivity is restored (or any other errorsresolved) this status will reflect that the content was partiallyuploaded. Moreover, as the chunks which have (or have not) been uploadedare tracked, when the upload is resumed protocol module 327 maydetermine which chunks have not been uploaded from the chunk trackingdata and only place work items on the queue for those chunks. In thismanner, only the chunks not previously uploaded may need to be uploadedto complete the upload of the content. It will be noted here, however,that there may be no need to inform the user that any error hasoccurred, as a copy of the content has already been stored in cache 322.

Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the invention canbe implemented or practiced with other computer system configurations,including without limitation multi-processor systems, network devices,mini-computers, mainframe computers, data processors, and the like. Theinvention can be embodied in a general purpose computer, or a specialpurpose computer or data processor that is specifically programmed,configured, or constructed to perform the functions described in detailherein. The invention can also be employed in distributed computingenvironments, where tasks or modules are performed by remote processingdevices, which are linked through a communications network such as aLAN, WAN, and/or the Internet. In a distributed computing environment,program modules or subroutines may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices. These program modules or subroutines may, forexample, be stored or distributed on computer-readable media, includingmagnetic and optically readable and removable computer discs, stored asfirmware in chips, as well as distributed electronically over theInternet or over other networks (including wireless networks). Examplechips may include Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory(EEPROM) chips. Embodiments discussed herein can be implemented insuitable instructions that may reside on a non-transitory computerreadable medium, hardware circuitry or the like, or any combination andthat may be translatable by one or more server machines. Examples of anon-transitory computer readable medium are provided below in thisdisclosure.

Although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely illustrative, and notrestrictive of the invention. Rather, the description is intended todescribe illustrative embodiments, features and functions in order toprovide a person of ordinary skill in the art context to understand theinvention without limiting the invention to any particularly describedembodiment, feature or function, including any such embodiment featureor function described in the Abstract or Summary. While specificembodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein forillustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications arepossible within the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilledin the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, thesemodifications may be made to the invention in light of the foregoingdescription of illustrated embodiments of the invention and are to beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, while theinvention has been described herein with reference to particularembodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes andsubstitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will beappreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of other featureswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as setforth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particularsituation or material to the essential scope and spirit of theinvention. For example, it will be understood that while embodiments asdiscussed herein are presented in the context of a browser basedapplication other embodiments may be applied with equal efficacy toother types of components on computing device (e.g., other nativecomponents, etc.).

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, or “a specific embodiment” or similar terminology meansthat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentand may not necessarily be present in all embodiments. Thus, respectiveappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or“in a specific embodiment” or similar terminology in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the sameembodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics of any particular embodiment may be combined in anysuitable manner with one or more other embodiments. It is to beunderstood that other variations and modifications of the embodimentsdescribed and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachingsherein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of theinvention.

In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, suchas examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in therelevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment may be able tobe practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with otherapparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts,and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, components,systems, materials, or operations are not specifically shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of theinvention. While the invention may be illustrated by using a particularembodiment, this is not and does not limit the invention to anyparticular embodiment and a person of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that additional embodiments are readily understandable and area part of this invention.

Embodiments discussed herein can be implemented in a computercommunicatively coupled to a network (for example, the Internet),another computer, or in a standalone computer. As is known to thoseskilled in the art, a suitable computer can include a central processingunit (“CPU”), at least one read-only memory (“ROM”), at least one randomaccess memory (“RAM”), at least one hard drive (“HD”), and one or moreinput/output (“I/O”) device(s). The I/O devices can include a keyboard,monitor, printer, electronic pointing device (for example, mouse,trackball, stylus, touch pad, etc.), or the like.

ROM, RAM, and HD are computer memories for storing computer-executableinstructions executable by the CPU or capable of being compiled orinterpreted to be executable by the CPU. Suitable computer-executableinstructions may reside on a computer readable medium (e.g., ROM, RAM,and/or HD), hardware circuitry or the like, or any combination thereof.Within this disclosure, the term “computer readable medium” is notlimited to ROM, RAM, and HD and can include any type of data storagemedium that can be read by a processor. For example, a computer-readablemedium may refer to a data cartridge, a data backup magnetic tape, afloppy diskette, a flash memory drive, an optical data storage drive, aCD-ROM, ROM, RAM, HD, or the like. The processes described herein may beimplemented in suitable computer-executable instructions that may resideon a computer readable medium (for example, a disk, CD-ROM, a memory,etc.). Alternatively, the computer-executable instructions may be storedas software code components on a direct access storage device array,magnetic tape, floppy diskette, optical storage device, or otherappropriate computer-readable medium or storage device.

Any suitable programming language can be used to implement the routines,methods or programs of embodiments of the invention described herein,including C, C++, Java, JavaScript, HTML, or any other programming orscripting code, etc. Other software/hardware/network architectures maybe used. For example, the functions of the disclosed embodiments may beimplemented on one computer or shared/distributed among two or morecomputers in or across a network. Communications between computersimplementing embodiments can be accomplished using any electronic,optical, radio frequency signals, or other suitable methods and tools ofcommunication in compliance with known network protocols.

Different programming techniques can be employed such as procedural orobject oriented. Any particular routine can execute on a single computerprocessing device or multiple computer processing devices, a singlecomputer processor or multiple computer processors. Data may be storedin a single storage medium or distributed through multiple storagemediums, and may reside in a single database or multiple databases (orother data storage techniques). Although the steps, operations, orcomputations may be presented in a specific order, this order may bechanged in different embodiments. In some embodiments, to the extentmultiple steps are shown as sequential in this specification, somecombination of such steps in alternative embodiments may be performed atthe same time. The sequence of operations described herein can beinterrupted, suspended, or otherwise controlled by another process, suchas an operating system, kernel, etc. The routines can operate in anoperating system environment or as stand-alone routines. Functions,routines, methods, steps and operations described herein can beperformed in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof.

Embodiments described herein can be implemented in the form of controllogic in software or hardware or a combination of both. The controllogic may be stored in an information storage medium, such as acomputer-readable medium, as a plurality of instructions adapted todirect an information processing device to perform a set of stepsdisclosed in the various embodiments. Based on the disclosure andteachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the invention.

It is also within the spirit and scope of the invention to implement insoftware programming or code an of the steps, operations, methods,routines or portions thereof described herein, where such softwareprogramming or code can be stored in a computer-readable medium and canbe operated on by a processor to permit a computer to perform any of thesteps, operations, methods, routines or portions thereof describedherein. In general, the functions of the invention can be achieved byany means as is known in the art. For example, distributed, or networkedsystems, components and circuits can be used. In another example,communication or transfer (or otherwise moving from one place toanother) of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means.

A “computer-readable medium” may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, system ordevice. The computer readable medium can be, by way of example only butnot by limitation, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, system, device,propagation medium, or computer memory. Such computer-readable mediumshall generally be machine readable and include software programming orcode that can be human readable (e.g., source code) or machine readable(e.g., object code). Examples of non-transitory computer-readable mediacan include random access memories, read-only memories, hard drives,data cartridges, magnetic tapes, floppy diskettes, flash memory drives,optical data storage devices, compact-disc read-only memories, and otherappropriate computer memories and data storage devices. In anillustrative embodiment, some or all of the software components mayreside on a single server computer or on any combination of separateserver computers. As one skilled in the art can appreciate, a computerprogram product implementing an embodiment disclosed herein may compriseone or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computerinstructions translatable by one or more processors in a computingenvironment.

It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted inthe drawings/figures can be implemented in a more separated orintegrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certaincases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application.Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/figures should beconsidered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwisespecifically noted.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having,” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,product, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited only those elements but may include other elementsnot expressly listed or inherent to such process, product, article, orapparatus.

Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein is generally intended to mean“and/or” unless otherwise indicated. For example, a condition A or B issatisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B isfalse (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (orpresent), and both A and B are true (or present). As used herein,including the claims that follow, a term preceded by “a” or “an” (and“the” when antecedent basis is “a” or “an”) includes both singular andplural of such term, unless clearly indicated within the claim otherwise(i.e., that the reference “a” or “an” clearly indicates only thesingular or only the plural). Also, as used in the description hereinand throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in”and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The scope of thepresent disclosure should be determined by the following claims andtheir legal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for remote caching, comprising:receiving, at a remote cache, a request for access to first content,wherein the first content is stored at a primary content managementsystem, the remote cache includes a cache and metadata corresponding tocontent stored in the cache, and the content in the cache is managed bythe primary content management system; determining that first metadataassociated with the requested first content is stored at the remotecache; sending a first request including the first metadata to theprimary content management system; receiving, at the remote cache, afirst response from the primary content management system, the firstresponse including second metadata associated with the first content;determining if a copy of the first content stored in the cache is acurrent copy of the first content based on comparing the first metadatawith the second metadata; when it is determined that the copy of thefirst content stored in the cache is not the current copy of the firstcontent: sending a second request to the primary content managementsystem for the current copy of the first content, obtaining the currentcopy of the first content based on a second response from the primarycontent management system, and storing the current copy of the firstcontent in the cache of the remote cache server, and responding to therequest for access to the first content by allowing access to thecurrent copy of the first content stored in the cache of the remotecache; and when it is determined that the copy of the first contentstored in the cache at the remote cache is the current copy of the firstcontent: responding to the request for access to the first content byallowing access to the copy of the first content stored in the cache ofthe remote cache.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote cache islogically remote from the primary content management system.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the remote cache is associated with a remotesite, and the content in the cache is associated with the remote site.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the contentin the cache with corresponding content at the primary contentmanagement system.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first requestincludes identification information associated with a user associatedwith the request for the first content.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the second response is a location of the current copy of thefirst content.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second responseincludes the current copy of the first content.
 8. A system for remotecaching, comprising: a remote cache system, including: a processor; adatastore including a cache for storing content, and storing metadatacorresponding to content stored in the cache, wherein the content storedin the cache is managed by a primary content management system, anon-transitory computer readable medium including instructions for:receiving a request for access to first content, wherein the firstcontent is stored at the primary content management system; determiningthat first metadata associated with the requested first content isstored at the remote cache; sending a first request including the firstmetadata to the primary content management system; receiving a firstresponse from the primary content management system, the first responseincluding second metadata associated with the first content; determiningif a copy of the first content stored in the cache is a current copy ofthe first content based on comparing the first metadata with the secondmetadata; when it is determined that the copy of the first contentstored in the cache is not the current copy of the first content:sending a second request to the primary content management system forthe current copy of the first content, obtaining the current copy of thefirst content based on a second response from the primary contentmanagement system, and storing the current copy of the first content inthe cache of the remote cache server, and responding to the request foraccess to the first content by allowing access to the current copy ofthe first content stored in the cache of the remote cache; and when itis determined that the copy of the first content stored in the cache atthe remote cache is the current copy of the first content: responding tothe request for access to the first content by allowing access to thecopy of the first content stored in the cache of the remote cache. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the remote cache is logically remote fromthe primary content management system.
 10. The system of claim 8,wherein the remote cache is associated with a remote site, and thecontent in the cache is associated with the remote site.
 11. The systemof claim 8, wherein the instructions are further for synchronizing thecontent in the cache with corresponding content at the primary contentmanagement system.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the first requestincludes identification information associated with a user associatedwith the request for the first content.
 13. The system of claim 8,wherein the second response is a location of the current copy of thefirst content.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the second responseincludes the current copy of the first content.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium comprising instructions for: receiving, at aremote cache, a request for access to first content, wherein the firstcontent is stored at a primary content management system, the remotecache includes a cache and metadata corresponding to content stored inthe cache, and the content in the cache is managed by the primarycontent management system; determining that first metadata associatedwith the requested first content is stored at the remote cache; sendinga first request including the first metadata to the primary contentmanagement system; receiving, at the remote cache, a first response fromthe primary content management system, the first response includingsecond metadata associated with the first content; determining if a copyof the first content stored in the cache is a current copy of the firstcontent based on comparing the first metadata with the second metadata;when it is determined that the copy of the first content stored in thecache is not the current copy of the first content: sending a secondrequest to the primary content management system for the current copy ofthe first content, and obtaining the current copy of the first contentbased on a second response from the primary content management system,storing the current copy of the first content in the cache of the remotecache server, and responding to the request for access to the firstcontent by allowing access to the current copy of the first contentstored in the cache of the remote cache; and when it is determined thatthe copy of the first content stored in the cache at the remote cache isthe current copy of the first content: responding to the request foraccess to the first content by allowing access to the copy of the firstcontent stored in the cache of the remote cache.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the remote cache islogically remote from the primary content management system.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the remotecache is associated with a remote site, and the content in the cache isassociated with the remote site.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are further forsynchronizing the content in the cache with corresponding content at theprimary content management system.
 19. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the first request includesidentification information associated with a user associated with therequest for the first content.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the second response is a location of thecurrent copy of the first content.
 21. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the second response includes thecurrent copy of the first content.